Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: shawn horcoff

No sabotage theories. No “flax seed oil” claims. No tales of carrying the absorbed remains of an unborn twin. That was cyclist Tyler Hamilton’s original explanation.

Melky Cabrera, now with the Chicago White Sox, once attempted to concoct an elaborate lie that involved launching a fake website in order to sell a fake supplement. But he eventually was busted by, among others, the feds.

Thankfully, Horcoff took a more direct route to his failed PED test and confessed to the mistake Tuesday, meaning this story shouldn’t become any more bizarre or unnecessarily entertaining.

As of this moment, the situation appears to be as straightforward as the 20 games and $357,526.88 Horcoff just forfeited.

For that much, the Ducks can be thankful. The circumstances certainly could be more convoluted and less savory. Just ask the Clippers and Blake Griffin.

Horcoff’s latest admirable actions, however, don’t make up for his previous regrettable ones. He erred in a major way and brought unwanted negative attention to a team that has played its way to enough embarrassment already.

NEW YORK (Jan. 26, 2016) – Anaheim Ducks forward Shawn Horcoff has been suspended for 20 games, without pay, for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the suspension is accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.

Based on his average annual salary, Horcoff will forfeit $357,526.88.

The National Hockey League will have no further comment on this matter.

Following today’s announcement by the NHL, Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray made the following statement:

“This morning we were made aware of the situation regarding Shawn Horcoff. The Anaheim Ducks organization fully supports the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. We will also continue to support Shawn as a player and person throughout this process. We will have no further comment at this time.”

added 1:48pm, below, a statement from Horcoff via an email from the NHLPA...

Then came Horcoff's decking of Tarasenko. The cheers that followed Tarasenko's game-tying goal 10 minutes before were replaced by the silence of held breath.

Horcoff's forearm appeared to meet Tarasenko's chin. Their knees knocked. Tarasenko crashed backward and was eventually helped off the ice by a trainer. Blues center Steve Ott, never one to turn down an on-ice altercation, went after Anaheim star Corey Perry to retaliate.

By now you know how it ended. Tarasenko returned for the third period and the Blues won 2-1 to improve to 7-2-1.

Tarasenko declined to offer his opinion on if the hit was dirty. That didn't stop others from weighing in. Horcoff wasn't penalized for the blow, but he could hear from the NHL's department of player safety. That seems unlikely, though....

John Shannon of Sportsnet's Hockey Central came to the same conclusion:

"Don't expect any SD for Horcoff after his elbow on Tarasenko … Got his arm up, but what hurt Tarasenko was the inadvertent knee on knee."

Coach Bruce Boudreau has already made Horcoff part of the Ducks' leadership group, five or six players Boudreau consults when making decisions on travel, practices and other matters. It's significant that Horcoff earned that honor so quickly, reflecting the respect the Ducks have for his 14-season career and their belief he can make an impact beyond his versatility as a penalty killer and bottom-six center or winger.

Horcoff said he chose the Ducks because he thought they'd give him the best possible chance to finally win the Stanley Cup, a quest he missed out on with the runner-up Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Ducks chose him because they think he can help lead them to the championship that has eluded them the past few seasons.

"To play at 37 you have to do something right a lot," Boudreau said. "You have to stay in great shape. You have to be a good player. You have to be a good team player. You've got to be smart, and isn't that what you want in a leader as well?"

It sums up what the Ducks expect from Horcoff, who spent most of his NHL career with the Oilers — including three seasons as their captain — before spending the last two seasons in Dallas. Boudreau has had Horcoff center for Patrick Maroon and Max Friberg in training camp, and Horcoff has held up well through days designed to be grueling.

"Bruce had a meeting with five or six of us before the camp started and said, 'Listen, we're going to be hard. We're going to go hard. We want to be the best in-shape team. We want to be the fastest team out there, and camp's going to be tough and we want the older guys to lead the way in intensity,' " Horcoff said. "And I've seen that. It's been hard. It's been a tough camp so far, but that's the best way to have it."

Horcoff is now a veteran of multiple lockouts. The Oilers captain has been active in the NHLPA for years and even though he's not surprised that another round of regular season games are expected to be chopped this week, it doesn’t make it any easier.

"It’s the same thing every time with the owners. [Gary Bettman's] first defense is to cancel games and test the players. There’s been no effort to negotiate on his stance. Their negotiation is 'The players have to come down to us or we’re not moving at all,'" Horcoff told ESPN the Magazine on Monday. "Gary has forced the players' hand into this situation and frankly, he’s [ticked] us off. I think at the start, that first offer they gave out, that was a big, big mistake on Gary’s part."

But it’s not even the cancellation of games or the stalled negotiations that appear to irk Horcoff the most. He questioned the sincerity of the league when it comes to concern for hockey fans.

"I sit there and read Gary and Bill’s comments about, 'We feel sorry for the fans.' Well, I find that really hard to believe," Horcoff said. "I think it’s a blatant lie, personally. I don’t feel they feel sorry for the fans at all. Gary feels like no matter what, [the fans are] going to come back and couldn't care less if they're frustrated with this. He’s going to do what it takes to get the best deal and couldn't care less what they feel."

Before the 2010-11 campaign began, I talked to numerous NHL personalities about what the ‘C’ meant these days and Rivet was one of the focuses. Teammate Jason Pominville told me that when Rivet arrived in 2008, he was a rarity on the team: a veteran willing to be vocal in the dressing room. The players took to him right away and voted him in as captain.

Two seasons later, I wonder about the optics of him being relegated to the sidelines. What does it mean for the leader of the team not to be on the bench during a game, imparting his wisdom to the youth or stabilizing a dicey situation? Maybe the Sabres are mature enough now that they can stand on their own without Rivet, but it doesn’t seem like a good situation to me.

The trend in the NHL recently has been for captains to be younger and often super-skilled. You’re never going to see Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews or Shea Weber benched. But based on the fact Toronto has eight legitimate NHL defensemen at its disposal right now, would it be crazy to think Phaneuf would be a healthy scratch one of these days if he continues to give the puck away or miss assignments?

In his third shift in Tuesday’s contest at Rexall Place, Shawn Horcoff collided with Corey Perry and felt his right knee pop. He did not return and will not be in the lineup for another eight weeks — at least that was the best guess from head coach Tom Renney.

Horcoff will have an MRI on Wednesday but he does have a damaged medial collateral ligament.

“He got his stick up between my legs. It was like a can opener and I felt it pop right away,” said Horcoff. “I took a faceoff and tried to finish the play but when I went to the net, I tried to stop. There was nothing. Hopefully it’s not that long.”

Shawn Horcoff is under-rated no more in in his own hometown. The majority of Oilers fans have come to see the self-made player as an outstanding first liner, an all star, good enough to compete for a spot as a fourth line energy player on Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

There is no aspect of the game that Horcoff hasn’t mastered: shooting, passing, skating, checking, faceoffs, defensive zone coverage. And the numbers prove it, according to Oilers fans at least.

The Edmonton Oilers have signed centre Shawn Horcoff to a six-year contract extension. More details to follow.

added 6:38pm,

Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe says, “Shawn has proven himself as one of the premier players in the National Hockey League and has been and will continue to be an integral part of our organization moving forward. By being proactive with this deal, we avoid being in a situation where Shawn could become an unrestricted free agent after next season and the unknown free agency can bring to the organization. Having him under contract long-term is something that has been on our radar for a long time and we are extremely pleased to finalize this deal.”

“He’s a little bit of a work in progress,” he said. “It’s not easy to play like he did in L.A. every night. That’s real tough to do. But he has potential to do that. You have to remember he’s essentially in his second year in the league. You have to be patient.

“I think he’s going to be there. This year? Maybe not. But by the second half of next year ...”

But this young, impressionable Oiler ship needs a rudder right now, and Moreau’s leg is still in a cast. His return is still weeks, if not months away, and it’s time the Oilers considered appointing a deserving veteran to the post of interim team captain. That veteran is Shawn Horcoff, who, in all likelihood was the second best candidate for the job when the vacant C went to Moreau at the conclusion of training camp.

The concept of an interim captain is not unheard of around the NHL, nor is it unheard of on the Edmonton Oilers, who are lacking many things right now, not the least of which is a healthy leader in chief.

“I like to think that every one of my teammates has that heart and the drive and that desire to do it,” said Horcoff. “A lot of times it’s just realizing you have to change your game a little bit, get a little more gritty.

“I think every player in here has it in them. Whether they bring it every night or not is a different story. Sometimes you just have to get to the front of the net and get a crappy goal. And win your battles in the corner. If you lose a puck in the corner, win a battle to get it back.

“What we’re talking about is 5-on-5 ice for (Horcoff),” MacTavish said after the win over the Flames. “Maybe his role will be more important, more impactful for us if he is playing on a second or third line. The minutes will be there ... but maybe at the start of the game his name isn’t with Hemsky and with Penner.

“We need a dynamic scorer, and Horc, for all his strengths, is not an 100-point guy, so we’re going to entertain thoughts of looking at somebody else, at times, 5-on-5.”

Horcoff heard MacTavish loud and clear.

“It’s motivating,” he said. “There’s only a handful of 100-point guys in the league.

MacTavish believes the high end of Gagner’s offensive ability is probably much higher than Horcoff’s, and since the team needs offence, they have to give this a serious look.

“We need a dynamic scorer,” said the coach, who had no idea Gagner would be this good this fast when Edmonton drafted him last summer.

“Horc, for all his strengths, is not a 100-point guy in our minds. You need a guy who’s going to be a 90 or a point-a-game guy, at least, in that position. So we’re going to entertain thoughts of looking at somebody else there at times five-on-five.”